1910s

In the 1910s and 1920s, 325 country houses of over 25 rooms were built on Long Island, which became home to some of the wealthiest families in America. Among them were the Guggenheims, Belmonts, Astors, Mackays, Vanderbilts, Goulds, Hearsts, Pratts, Coes, Phipps, Morgans, and Whitneys.

Behind the gates of these estates, the needs and desires of the owners were attended to by cadres of household maids, cooks, domestics, groundskeepers, superintendents, stablehands, chauffeurs, dairymen, and gardeners. Some stayed on their jobs for a few years, others for a lifetime. “Small” estates had 10-15 servants, while the largest had up to 400. Estate workers shared a unique way of life that has long since disappeared.

Evan Williams & State-of-the-Art Lawnmower

Megan Rumbelow grew up around the Gold Coast Estates. Her uncle, Evan Williams, worked as a chaffeur at the Guggenheim estate in Sands Point. Her mother and aunt were also employed as servants. In the following interview excerpt, she tells historian Elly Shodell about the realistic depiction of servant life in the British TV series Upstairs,Downstairs:

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

Fontaine Fox (1884-1964), the celebrated “Toonerville Trolley” cartoonist, lived in Port Washington from 1914 to the 1930’s. His “Terrible Tempered” Mr. Bangs, the “Powerful Katrinka,” Banker Grey, and Old Man Flint were small-town characters who earned Fox a syndication in over 200 newspapers.

In the interview excerpt below, long-time Port resident Bill Bohnel tells historian Elly Shodell about the local inspirations for these memorable characters, and about Port Washington’s history as a home for artists and writers.

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

“The whole town was a cartoon!” Click the arrow to listen. (3:49)

Fontaine Fox's Carlton Avenue Home

“Toonerville Trolley” (officially known as “Toonerville Folks”) ran from 1908 until 1955. It was adapted into cartoons, used in numerous advertisments, and inspired a number of short films starring Mickey Rooney.

To hear more of this interview, read transcripts, and view more photos, please visit the Port Washington Public Library Local History Center.

“Toonerville” cut-outs are from the collection of the PWPL Local History Center.